Claw fork



W. SPANN CLAW FORK May 8, 1951 '2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 10. 1947 Inventor Woodard Spann By and W I Attorreys May 8, 1951 w SPANN 2,552,228

CLAW FORK Filed Feb. 10, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 E IO 5 5 34 a u E E 3 36 E B In I'm/tor Woodard Spann A Home Patented May 8, "1951 UNITE-D STATES PATENT OFFICE .CLAW FORK Woo'dardSpann, Gunnison, Colo.

-'-App lic ation-' February1-10, 1947,-Serial No. -727,571

"5,C,laims. v1

The present invention comprises ,novel and useful improvements :in .a .claw .fork and more specifically pertains .to. a. hay. forkhavinghinged jawstogether .with an improved, operating. means for opening and. closingsaid jaws.

-The principal ,objects of .this invention. consist in providingahayfork or th like whichcshall be. of a simple, and dependable vconstruction,easily operableeand maneuverable, and whichmay .be controlled. as .to positioning. of the. fork, opening and closing. the same. by, one man. andbyremote control; to provide .a fork operating .means wherein the lifting means may be operated to cause. the fork .tines to, effectively, be.d.,themselves in a mass of hay ioizthelike; .to .provide in. ahay fork hinged ,jaws together .withzanoperating means thereforand an.effective latch means :for retaining theoperating meansin, selected operative positions.

These, together .with various.anciHaryobiects of the. inventionwhich iwill laterbecome apparent as thefollowing description proceeds, arerealized by i this invention,. one. embodimentpf, which has been illustrated, by way of example only, inthe accompanying drawings, wherein:

. Figure .1 is, aside ,elevational View showing the deviceafterthe operating means hascaused the tines tobecomeiembedded in a mass .of hay;

.Figure 21s a side elevational view'as the fork is vbeing lifted, showing .thenext stepin the operation .of the device from that shown in Figure 1,. and illustratingthe teeth and jaws closing upon the mass ofv hay;

Figure,3-is.a side elevationalviewof a portion of-the mechanism shown in Figuresl and 2, part of thelifting cable'beingomitted, and showing the device in its fully opened position, together with the operating means in its.latched .open position;

Figure-4 isle, top plan. view of the claw fork showninliigure 3,

Figure 5 is, an enlarged fragmentary view in front elevation showing the latch. means mounted upon the operatingmeanaand 1 Figure 6. isatopplan view, of: the; latch mechanism taken substantially upon the section -6-=6 of Figure 5.

Reference is now .made more particularly to theannexed drawings, whereinlike. numerals indicate similar parts throughout .the various. views and whereinl designates asupport-bar upon the lower endlof Whichispivoted as at-IZ apair of fork arms 1.4,,and-l Bprovided withthe customary flexible fork tinesZO.

.As shownmore clearly in .'Fi gure 4, the fork arms .preferablyiconsist ofan angularl disposed pair of angle irons whoseouter extremities are connected to agenerally rectangular frame 18, in such manner that the, side members of each of the arms l4 and the rectangular-frame 18 form a triangle. whoseapex. is pivoted upon the support bar l0, and whereineachof the arm members and the rectangular base l8 .are adapted to form a rigid operating unit hinged upon the support rod by the pivot pin [2.

vAsindicated clearly at'j22 in Figure 4, each of the tineslil are provided withajloop of'material to form aspring whereby the tines are flexibly carried bythe members I 8, there being. any suitable numberofrows of tines carried thereby.

,At its upper end, the support. rod It is preferablyprovidejd with.a headed or.enlargedportion 24 providing a stop meansfora purposeto'be subsequently set. forth.

v.As so far descri bed, it willbe readily understoodthat when the arms members, 14 and i tare raised to ,a' horizontal position relative. to theverticallydisposed support .rod as inFigures l and 3, the tines will be generally disposed in their open positions, whereby'they may readilypenetrate a mass of hay or the :like ,or 'be'released therefrom.

.When. now the support rod l 0 is lifted, itgwill-be seenthat ,theweight of the fork arms, and i6 willcause the latter'to pivot about their support pin l2, wherebythe'tines 2!) will tend to dig into andgrip. the mass of hayor the like as indicated clearlyin F'igure 2.

,In order to effectively operatethe fork, previously described, the :followingoperating mechanism is provided. A transverse bar, 26,; preferably of great weight such as about alOQpounds or the like, is disposed for sliding movement longitudinally of the support rod .10, being retained and uided thereon ,as by a .suitable strap or guide member'28, shown best inFigures 4 and 6. Upon opposite sidesof the guide member 28, the-transverse bar 26 isprovided with a'pair. of supporting hooks or eyes .30 to which arefastenedthe bifurcated ends of .a lifting cable 32. .As will be readily understoo;d,ithe .cable 32 may formpart of any suitable forklifting mechanism, such as oneoperated bya drum, pulleys orthe like. It will .thus be seen that the transverse :bar 26.is free to slide'longitudinally of'the support rod 10 between. the ends thereof, being retained thereon as by the headed portion 24 and the pivoted ends of ,the fork arms. l4, and. I 6.

At itsv extremities, the transverse barjZB is .pro- .Vide.d.with eyes 134 to which are secured chains 36 suitably attached to the base members l8 of the fork arms l4 and 16, as shown best in Figure 4. The length of chain is preferably so adjusted that when the transverse bar 26 is disposed in its upper position on the support bar NJ, in a manner to be set forth hereinafter, the fork arms [4 and I6 are urged or supported in their horizontally extending position as shown in Figure 3, whereby the fork tines and fork arms are open to their maximum extent. When, however, the transverse bar 26 is lowered upon the support rod ID, the slack in the chains 36 releases the ends of the fork arms and permits the fork arms to close in a manner to be set forth herein-after.

Attention is now directed more clearly to Figures 1, 3 and 6, wherein it may be seen that the supporting rod 16 is provided with a pair of apertures 38 and 46 adjacent the extremities thereof, While the transverse bar 26 is provided with an aperture 42 which is alignable with either of the apertures in the support bar it, as the transverse bar is moved longitudinally thereof.

A latch means is provided for selectively securing or fixing the transverse bar at either extremity of the support rod ill by means of the apertures 38, 40 and 42. For this purpose, the lever 44 is secured as by a pin 46 between a pair of laterally extending lugs 48 carried by the transverse bar 26, and is provided intermediate its ends with a latching pin 56 adapted to extend through the aperture 42 in the latching lever, and into one of the apertures 38 and 40 with which the transverse bar happens to be aligned. In order to urge the latching lever into its seated position, a pin 52 extends laterally from the transverse bar 26 and through an aperture 54 in the lever 44. The end of this pin 52 is preferably screw threaded and is surrounded by a spring 56 whose tension is adjusted as by a nut 58. At its outer extremity, the latching lever is provided with an eye 60 to which is secured an operating cable 62 which extends to any suitable location whereby the latching lever may be removably controlled as set forth hereinafter.

From the foregoing, it is believed that the mode of operating the device will be now apparent. Assuming that the fork is suspended in its fully opened position from the support cable 32 in the position shown in Figure 3, it will be understood that the latch pin 56 is engaged in the apertures 42 and 38, whereby the transverse bar is locked in its upper position upon the support bar Ill, and whereby the chains 36 hold the fork arms 14 and 16 in their horizontal open position. The device may now be lowered until the teeth or tines 26 are engaged upon and slightly penetrate the surface of the hay or other material to be gathered. At this time, it is intended that by manipulation of the cable 62, by an operator who may conveniently be at a remote distanc from the fork, the latching lever 4 is pivoted about its pin 46 against the action of the spring 56, whereby the latching pin 56 is withdrawn from the apertures 42 and 36. Since suitable slack has preferably been introduced into the lifting cable 32, the heavy transverse bar 26 is now free to slide down upon the support rod I0, and produce an impact upon the horizontally disposed fork jaws l4 and I6 and their pivot pin I2, thereby driving the forks and embedding the same in the mass of material, this being the position indicated in Figure 1.

It is now intended that this downward travel of the transverse bar 26 upon the support bar H! under the influence of gravity shall be sufficient .4 to permit the spring pressed latch pin to engage with the apertures 42 in the transverse bar 26 and the lowermost aperture 46 in the support bar 16. This is the relative position of the transverse and support rod and latching means shown in Figure 2.

Now, as the lifting cable 32 is elevated, the transverse bar 26 is likewise lifted and due to this latch engagement also elevates the support rod I0. As this rigidly locked assembly of bars [0 and 26 is elevated, the weight of the fork arms M and [6 causes the latter to pivot together upon their hinge pin I2, whereby the curved tines 20 more deeply penetrate into the mass of hay or other material and the tines and fork arms tend to close into the position shown in Figure 2. The fork, together with this mass of material gripped therein may now be lifted and maneuvered as desired. When it is desired to release the load of material from the fork arms, the latch lever 44 is again manipulated by means of the cable 62, thereby withdrawing the latching pin 50 from the aligned apertures, whereby the support rod I6 is free to slide downwardly through the guide 28 and relative to the transverse bar 26. This downward sliding movement is caused by the weight of the support of the fork arms l4 and I6 together with the mass of material carried thereby. As the rod and arms I4 and I6 slide downwardly, the slack is taken up in the chains 36, and the latter now swings the arms outwardly to open the jaws of the fork thereby releasing the contents.

It will be readily apparent that the above described construction of fork and operating means may be manipulated in various manners and methods of operation and that considerable changes may be made in both mode of operation and structure within the broad principles of this invention. Accordingly, it is not desired to limit the protection sought to the exact construction shown and described, but all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A hay fork comprising a vertical support bar, fork arms commonly pivoted at their inner ends to the lower terminal of the support bar for a simultaneous free closing movement, an actuating bar slidably mounted on the support bar for maintaining said arms in horizontal open positions and for imparting a downward driving force to the arms, flexible fastening means connecting the ends of said actuating bar and the outer ends of said fork arms, complementary releaseable retaining means on said actuating bar and support bar for locking the actuating bar in selected positions on the support bar.

2. A hay fork comprising a vertical support bar, cooperative fork arms pivoted at their inner ends to the lower terminal of the support bar, an operating bar vertically slidable on the support bar, lifting and supporting cables connected to the operating bar, means for releasably looking the operating bar to the upper end of the support bar, flexible connecting means between the opposing ends of the operating bar and the outer ends of the fork arms, said connecting means holding the fork arms in horizontal positions when the operating bar is locked to the upper end of the support bar, said operating bar upon release of the locking means imparting a downward driving thrust to the arms and means for releasably locking the operating bar on the lower end of the support bar so that the arms can be raised by the lifting and supporting cables While in closed relationship.

3. A hay fork comprising a vertical support bar, cooperative fork arms pivoted at their inner ends to the lower terminal of the support bar, an operating bar vertically slidable on the support bar, lifting and supporting cables connected to the operating bar, means for releasably looking the operating bar to the upper end of the support bar, flexible connecting means between the opposing ends of the operating bar and the outer ends of the fork arms, said connecting means holding the fork arms in horizontal positions when the operating bar is locked to the upper end of the support bar, said operating bar upon release of the locking means imparting a downward driving thrust to the arms and means for releasably locking the operating bar on the lower end of the support bar so that the arms can be raised by the lifting and supporting cables while in closed relationship, said looking means including a pivoted locking lever on said operating bar, said bar having an opening, a lateral lug carried by the lever and engageable in said opening and the upper and lower ends of the support bar being formed with openings registerable with the opening in the operating bar, and resilient means for urging said lug into the openings in the support bar.

4. A hay fork comprising a vertical support bar, cooperative fork arms pivoted at their inner ends to the lower terminal of the support bar, an operating bar vertically slidable on the support bar, lifting and supporting cables connected to the operating bar, means for releasably locking the operating bar to the upper end of the support bar, flexible connecting means between the opposing ends of the operating bar and the outer ends of the fork arms, said connecting means holding the fork arms in horizontal positions when the operating bar is locked to the upper end of the support bar, said operating bar upon release of the locking means imparting a downward driving thrust to the arms and means for releasably locking the operating bar on the lower end of the support bar so that the arms can be raised by the lifting and supporting cables while in closed relationship, said locking means including a pivoted locking lever on said operating bar, said bar having an opening, a lateral lug carried by the lever and engageable in said opening and the upper and lower ends of the support bar being formed with openings register-able with the opening in the operating bar, and resilient means for urging said lug into the openings in the support bar, and remote controlled release means connectedto said looking lever.

5. A hay fork comprising a vertical support bar, cooperative fork arms pivoted at their inner ends to the lower terminal of the support bar, an operating bar vertically slidable on the support bar, lifting and supporting cables connected to the operating bar, means for releasably locking the operating bar to the upper end of the support bar, flexible connecting means between the opposing ends of the operating bar and the outer ends of the fork arms, said connecting means holding the fork arms in horizontal positions when the operating bar is locked to the upper end of the support bar, said operating bar upon release of the locking means imparting a downward driving thrust to the arms and means for releasably locking the operating bar on the lower end of the support bar so that the arms can be raised by the lifting and supporting cables while in closed relationship, and stop means on the upper end of the support bar.

WOODARD SPANN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 120,160 Moose Oct. 24, 1871 456,624 Lardner July 28, 1891 1,039,737 Hester Oct. 1, 1912' 

